you should try the Bumblebee Project, it works very good with optimus ..

here the shell entreys

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:bumblebee/stable

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install bumblebee

sudo usermod -a -G bumblebee >username<

restart the computer and just put an “optirun” in front of the programmname and you using the nvidia chipset for this aplication…(press Alt- F2 and tipe for example optirun firefox and firefox is running in nvidiamode..

I have the Z360 i5 model with exactly the same issues as you stated above. As my OS, I have 11.04 with the Mostafa PPA (patched kernel and Gnome2 power management), so backlight control works in Gnome (but not in KDE 4.6 without the help of some scripting).

Since I updated to the latest BIOS from the Lenovo site, hardware fan control is now sorted. Due to this, I have managed to stretch battery-life to about 2.5 hours. Not majorly good, but not too shabby.

The NVidia Optimus issue is now well publicised as to what the reasons behind the problem is, so I won't rehash them. Yes, not having the NVidia display working is a damn shame, since the 310M chipset is a lot more powerful in terms of 3D than the integrated Intel UMA chipset ever will be. Having said that, points in the UMA chipset's favour:

* Very power-economical* More than sufficient for things like YouTube HD (780p, not 1080p) and the BBC's iPlayer

So, all in all, the only thing really counting in a big way against this laptop is the NVidia issue, the rest one can live with if you are able/willing to tweak your Linux distro, or to be stuck with Ubuntu (at least for now). So in my opinion one can upgrade your “bottom line” somewhat to “well running, but not beginner friendly”.

If you can buy this laptop on a special and you are willing to rise to the challenge of having to tweak your distro, I would say go for it! The basic build quality is excellent, the screen quality is superb, and thanks to proper hardware fan control, it's quiet enough for me to use it in bed without upsetting my significant other.

PS: To all Bitcoin hackers and CUDA lovers - the challenge would be to access the 310M and use it as a number cruncher while you use the Intel UMA chip for normal display. At least one could get some use out of the NVidia chipset!

Harald Atteneder, 2011/05/30 22:26

i got the same notebook. how did you update your bios? lenovo only offers update tools for win

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